August will start off steamy in Chicago

CHICAGO - What a difference a week can make when it comes to summer in Chicago. Last week saw highs of 90 degrees or more three out of seven days while the other days saw highs in the upper 80s. This week started off quite a bit cooler with high of just 76 degrees at O'Hare on Monday.

The National Blend of Models keeps every day this week cooler compared to last week. Highs will range from the upper 70s to lower 80s through Sunday. So July will end on a relatively cool note. So far the month is barely above average. July is running just .1 degree above normal as of Monday.

A pattern shift is coming next week as August is set to start off steamy. The average high for the first week of August is 84 degrees. The forecast keeps every day next week above average with most of the week seeing highs near 90 degrees.

The Climate Prediction Center's 6-10 day and 8-14 day temperature outlooks concur on the rather warm start to August.

The 6-10 day outlook covers the period from Sunday through next Thursday. It has us "likely above" average overall.

The 8-14 day temperature outlook covers the period from next Tuesday through the following Monday. 

It also has us "likely above" average overall with even higher probabilities of this occurring.

This new warm pattern could continue beyond just the start of next month. We might need to get used to this warm shift. 

Models are hinting the entire month could end up above average overall.

The longer range monthly temperature outlook was just updated a few days ago. It also has us "likely above" average overall for the entire month of August.